My elderly father’s most recent directive from his trusted physician was quite simply, “Gain weight, Ed!,” but for all the woes we hear about the trails of trying to lose weight, we don’t often realize that for some, gaining weight can be a real struggle.

Being too thin, especially for senior citizens, or anyone battling an illness, can put further strain on our system and make us feel weak, tired, cold, or frail. Weight loss can also impact our muscle mass, and maintaining some muscle in general, and particularly as we age, is instrumental in maintaining our mobility, strength, and in turn, our health.

While the road to weight gain is quite logical – we need to take in more daily calories than we burn – the practice can be challenging, especially if it involves changing our diet or eating patterns. Still, it can be done, it can be fun, and foods must be healthy to be truly effective.

Here isa list of foods for healthy, happy weight gain, along with some snack ideas and meal recipes.

Snack ideas:

Half a whole grain bagel with smoked salmon, or smokedsalmon and cream cheese

Unsalted nuts mixed with dried fruits such as apricot, mango, and raisins

Whole–milk yogurt with flax seeds, hemp seeds, nuts or granola (be mindful of the sugar content of granolas, as they can be high)

Guacamole and flax seed chips (or just slices of avocado by themselves)

Cheese and whole–grain crackers

A bowl of small mozzarella balls and cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil

Hard boiled eggs

One-egg omelet with grated parmesan

Cornbread or banana bread (these can easily be made from store-bought mixes, or from scratch)

Unsalted or lightly salted popcorn with or without real butter (throw a tab in and mix it up)

Recipe ideas

1. Avocado Open Sandwich on Toast

Prep time: 3 minutesIngredients: Two slices of multigrain bread, one avocado and a little lime juice.Recipe: Toast the bread. Peel and stone the avocado. Coarsely slice it and in a small bowl crush it down with a squeeze of lime juice, sea salt and mayo. Don’t try and form a puree as this should still be coarse and chunky.